Public to Help Decide New Area Code’s Application

As Los Angeles County prepares for the addition of yet another area code, the public is being asked to help decide how the new code will be applied.

The new 626 code will be the county’s eighth and fold into the areas covered by the current 818 area code, said Paula Olivares, spokeswoman for the private telecommunications advisory group that has been working with the California Public Utilities Commission on the plan.

“Telephone numbers are just being used up at a tremendous rate . . . so we need to introduce a new area code in 1997,” said Olivares, adding that available 818 phone numbers are expected to run out in early 1998.

While the need for a new code has been established and its digits selected, state utilities officials have not yet given it final approval because they must decide how the change will be implemented, Olivares said. State-mandated public meetings will be held this fall on two proposals.

“Both plans have advantages and disadvantages,” Olivares said.

Under one plan, the current 818 code would be geographically split. A small portion of northwest Burbank--about 10 blocks--and the rest of the San Fernando Valley would maintain the 818 code. Cities in the San Gabriel Valley and the majority of Burbank--3 million customers--would have their area codes changed to 626.

“One of the questions is do you want to keep splitting, carving up the county into smaller and smaller pieces?” Olivares said. “It’s very difficult to divide without splitting a community of interest.”

Under a second plan, existing customers in the 818 area code would not change their codes. Only customers who order new telephone service after the 626 code is implemented in 1997 could be assigned the new code.

Theoretically, there could be phones with different area codes at the same address, Olivares said. This plan requires all customers to dial a 1 and then 10 digits--the area code and number--each time a call is made, even to numbers with the same area code. Because the cost of a phone call depends on distance, the change would not drive up the cost of calls in the area.

“If there were a painless, simple way of introducing an area code we certainly would have figured it out and we’d be doing it,” Olivares said.

With the proliferation of cellular phones, pagers and computer phone lines, area codes now last only five to seven years before the numbers are used up, she said. Cellular phones and pagers account for more than 60% of all new telephone numbers.

After the public meetings, the advisory group will review the comments and make a recommendation to the PUC by December. The commission will make the final decision.

Six public meetings will be held in September in the San Fernando and San Gabriel valleys. For information on the times and locations of the meetings, customers can call (800) 455-6914.

A New Area Code for the Valley In the near future a new area code 626, could be implemented. Under the plan, San Gabriel Valley and most of the city of Burbank would all fall under the new 626 code, while other San Fernando Valley residents would keep the 818 code.